Senator Ralph Recto asked the National Telecommunication Commission Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba why they’re going to close down ABS-CBN despite the network having no pending penalty records to their agency.

During the Senate hearing on ABS-CBN, Recto asked Cordoba about the possible consequences of the franchise expiration of the broadcasting company, asking what would happen to the employees of the said network and how they’re going to pay their debts in different banks in the country.

He then asked Cordoba if ABS-CBN has a penalty with the NTC, which the NTC commissioner answered no.

Recto said that the closing of ABS-CBN may be too much if the network doesn’t have any violation with the NTC.

“And here we are talking about the possibility of closing the station, so far you are the regulator and you’re not complaining of any penalty, in effect parang capital punishment, wala naman palang penalty, bakit natin isasara kung walang penalty sa inyo?” Recto said.

“Assuming na may penalty sa inyo edi pag multahin nalang, bakit kailangan pang isara?” he added.

Cordoba fails to answer the question of Recto.

ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire in March 2020 and some Senators are already asking the NTC if they’re going to give a temporary license to operate to the tv station for two to three more years.

A netizen criticized Kapamilya journalist Karen Davila for insisting that President Rodrigo Duterte is possibly controlling the House of the Representatives to delay the talks on the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

Davila, after her viral interview with Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, posted several tweets about President Duterte’s ability to hasten or to delay the renewal of the broadcasting network.

“Ang TOTOO. Kahit ano pang sabihing dahilan na “separation of powers”, sinasabi pa rin ng ilang kongresista na kung gusto ng Pangulo, didinggin nila ang prankisa. Yun ang realidad nila sa mababang kapulungan,” Davila said on her tweet.

Ang TOTOO. Kahit ano pang sabihing dahilan na “separation of powers”, sinasabi pa rin ng ilang kongresista na kung gusto ng Pangulo, didinggin nila ang prankisa. Yun ang realidad nila sa mababang kapulungan. pic.twitter.com/t9c9JtT9Sg

— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) February 22, 2020

Netizen Noel Landero Sarifa is one of the netizens who responded to Davila’s tweet, asking why the journalist was still insisting that Duterte had a role in the issue of ABS-CBN franchise despite talking already to the spokesperson of the President.

According to him, Davila should stop interviewing anyone if she’s not going to believe what they’re saying.

Sarifa pointed out that Congress should address more important bills than focusing on the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

“Naginterview ka pa kung hindi mo rin naman tatanggapin ang salaysay ng ininterview mo. Hindi ka naman imbestigador or judge to say which is which, the media is to present the side of the story of both party, but it seems you are to bias to accept the side of the state. Kung hindi mo kayang paniwalaan ang separation ng house, senate at executive e di sana di ka na nag-interview kung di mo rin naman paniniwalaan sasabihin nila. Mali ang pagkaitindi mo sa balita,” Sarifa said.

“Bakit ba baluktot pag-iisip mo? Hindi ba pruweba yan na hindi nakikialam ang pangulo? May mga nakaline up na sa session ng congress, so gusto mo sumingit kayo sa Pila? Gusto nyo kasi kayo mauna, hindi ang taumbayan. Aba may mga priority ang congress at yun ang alam nilang mas makakatulong sa bayan hindi ng station mo,” he added.

The netizen also said that by not certifying the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bill as urgent, it showed that President Duterte is not interfering with the said issue.

“Ibig sabihin, gagawin pa rin ng Congress ang trabaho nila, nila sa pagtalakay ng franchise renewal nyo kaso nga lang hindi sya urgent. Ikaw ang nag-uudyok sa pangulo na makialam sya sa proseso ng kongreso, ayaw nya nga pakialaman e. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said holding hearings into the network’s franchise is “not that urgent” so speaker may sabi nun. Pagginawang urgent yan ng pangulo e di pakikialam yun, di ba?” he said.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said many times that they’re not rushing to discuss the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN because many people are still emotional about the issue.

He also claimed that ABS-CBN could still operate even after its franchise expires.

Source: [1]

Former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque criticized the plan of Senator Grace Poe to conduct a hearing on the franchise of ABS-CBN despite having a conflict of interest.

In an interview with Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) News Channel, Roque questioned why Senator Grace Poe is going to lead the investigation even if her family has a close-ties with ABS-CBN.

Roque said that Poe, as a Senator, was supposed to be a role model to other public officials. That’s why she must show that she has high ethical standards.

“Ang sa akin bakit naman pamumunuan ni Senator Grace Poe itong pandinig na ito, samantalang mayroon siyang conflict of interest? Ang nanay niya nagtatrabaho sa ABS-CBN, yung library ng tatay niya na si FPJ ay binili at pagmamay-ari ngayon ng ABS-CBN,” said Roque.

“Ang sa akin, bagamat ikaw ay halal na Senador, mataas na opisyales kuno, ikaw yung magpapakita na mataas ang iyong ethical standards,” he added.

Senator Poe’s family owned the FPJ Productions which handling the top television program in ABS-CBN “Ang Probinsiyano”.

Poe’s adoptive mother, Susan Roces is the Chief Executive Officer of FPJ Productions.

In 2013, ABS-CBN also bought the rights to the late Fernando Poe Jr’s exclusive movie library for an undisclosed price.

However, Roque said that the correct thing for Poe should do is to avoid discussing the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN and should focus on investigating the alleged violations of the broadcasting company.

Poe’s Committee on Public Service is set to discuss the issue of ABS-CBN on Monday.

She also invited Solicitor General Jose Calida who filed the quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa denied the accusations of some netizens that he owns a luxury watch that worth P25,000,000.

A certain Elgin Lazaro III posted a photo of Dela Rosa on his Facebook post highlighting the watch wearing by the Senator.

The post claimed that the accessory wearing by Dela Rosa in the photo is a Richard Mille watch worth P25-M, questioning how a Senator of a republic who’s only earning 300,000 pesos monthly could afford such luxury.

Dela Rosa who saw the post responded to the accusations of his critics, calling them desperate for spreading disinformation about him.

According to Dela Rosa, the watch he’s wearing is not a Richard Mille, but another brand of watch which can be afforded even by the minimum wage earners.

In the photo posted by Dela Rosa, it showed that the watch he’s wearing worth 7,000 pesos and a gift from a friend.

“Tingnan mo naman how desperate itong mga bayarang trolls just to destroy the reputation of a person. Ang suot kong murang relo na invicta pilit gawing richard mills. Tingnan mo ,ugok, ang totoong relong suot ko nasa last picture. Bring it on yellows and oligarch puppets!….ito kasi si Roy Rondilla binigyan pa ako nitong relo na ito hindi na lang ginawang rolex!” said Dela Rosa.

The man who gave him the watch defended Dela Rosa, saying that he presented it to the former PNP chief, one year before he was elected as a senator.

This is not the first time that Dela Rosa was accused by his critics of owning expensive things that cannot be simply afforded by anyone.

In 2018, Dela Rosa has been questioned by his critics for wearing expensive pants, claiming that the jeans he’s wearing worth P25,000.

However, Dela Rosa revealed that he bought the pants in Las Vegas for only $49.99.

“Sa mga losers na ginagawang big issue ang pagsusuot ko ng true religion pants, look at the price! Just pm me your size at bibilhan kita dito mr. inggitero.”Dela Rosa said.

A former news reporter of ABS-CBN criticized one of the current Kapamilya journalists, Karen Davila, after her interview with Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo about the franchise issue of her network and press freedom.

On his Facebook post, veteran journalist Jay Sonza couldn’t stop himself from criticizing Davila and questioning her capabilities as a broadcaster after what he saw during the interview.

Sonza said that Davila may not impress the first generation executives and reporters of ABS-CBN if she became a journalist in the same era as them.

“I am sorry to say this. Itong talk program host na ito ang pinakab*** at pinakat***** sa kasaysayan ng broadcasting, radyo man o telebisyon. Shunga. latang walang laman. burak ang laman ng bungo nito. nuknukan sa katangahan,” Sonza said.

“Kung inabutan ni Karen sina Ben Aniceto, Rick Tierro, iyong yumaong tatay ni Leah Navarro. Lito Balquiedra Jr. at Orly Mercado – mga betereno ng abs, 1st day, last day ito matapos masabihan ng you’re fired,” he added.

Davila is being criticized and accused of trying to outsmart Spokesperson Panelo who’s known as one of the top lawyers in the country.

In another post, Sonza gave a tip to people who are dreaming to become a talk program presenter.

“Here’s my professional tip to budding and would be talk program presenter on radio and television – study, study harder and study some more the subject of discussion/issues and/or presentation. Otherwise, you will appear like that idi*t Karen Davila on ANC, SkyCable this morning with one of the country’s top litigation lawyer in Salvador Panelo,” he said.

Davila’s interview with Panelo has gone viral yesterday after the two almost engaged in a heated debate about press freedom and the ABS-CBN franchise.

During the discussion, Panelo insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte is not pressuring the Congress to delay the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

He also distanced the President to the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against the television network giant.

Panelo then complained of how some reporters are seems trying to blame President Duterte for what’s currently happening in ABS-CBN.

“Eh sino nga ang nag bibigay ng franchise o nag re-renew edi Congress, bakit mo sinisisi ang Presidente, wala ngang kinalaman ang Presidente doon, tanungin mo kung bakit galit si Presidente, sasagutin kita,” Panelo told Davila.

The #OustDuterte rally in EDSA was awaited by many netizens who are curious if this time, they’re going to succeed in pressuring President Rodrigo Duterte to resign by showing how many people are already opposing his policies.

However, it seems that many of them are disappointed that four years since Duterte became the President, there’s still no opposition rally that could raise alarm to the current administration.

A netizen even made a funny news report about the EDSA rally to mock the rallyist who even called the event “People Power 3” in some of their Facebook posts few weeks ago.

Hajji Kuya Amin, who’s driving along EDSA on February 22 published a live video showing the rallyists gathered around the People Power Monument.

In his report, he sarcastically said that there are millions of people attended the rally.

“Milyon milyong mga tao ang naipon dito para manawagan ng ‘resign Duterte’ ayan po mga kaibigan napakarami po nila ngayon, sa sobrang dami po nila ngayon ay wala pong ka-traffic traffic,” he said.

In reality, MMDA announced that there are only approximately 200 people attended the said event.

The event was promoted by several opposition supporters for months, asking for donations for the big event.

“Sabi ng mga DDS, nananaginip daw ako sa panawagang #OUST DUTERTE sa 2-22-2020. “You may say I’m a dreamer: but I’m not the only one.” – IMAGINE, John Lennon,” Enzo Recto, one of the organizers of the rally said weeks before the event.

However, it seems that the effort of the organizers is not enough to encourage the public to support the ouster of President Duterte.

It seems that not only the opposition supporters are disappointed after seeing that there are only a few attendees in the most awaited #OustDuterte rally in EDSA.

Even Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Spokesperson Celine Pialago was disappointed because the agency prepared a lot after hearing rumors that many people are going to attend the event which aims to oust President Rodrigo Duterte from his office.

According to Pialago’s post, MMDA already put barriers around the possible places of the rally, however, they were disappointed that only less than 200 people attended the event.

Pialago also sacrificed her weekend vacation just to supervise the said event.

“Sayang naman preparation namin for this “rally” naglagay pa kami ng barriers, tapos pumasok pa ako ng weekend,” Pialago said on her Facebook post.

The #OustDuterte rally was organized by the group Bunyog (Pagkakaisa) to force President Duterte to resign.

Enzo Recto, one of the organizers, even called the said event as “People Power 3”.

“Nang mag-erupt ang Taal, mas private sector ang tumugon sa pangangailangan ng mga tao. Ngayong pumutok ang krisis sa coronavirus, mas inisip pa ng gobyerno ang ikakasama ng loob ng China kung iba-ban ang mga Intsik sa pagpasok sa bansa, kaysa sa sariling kapakanan at kaligtasan ng sariling mamamayan.” Recto said.

“Wala na talaga. Failure of governance na ito. Hindi lang si Duterte, lahat ng sangay ng gobyerno, at lahat ng mga pulitiko ay wala nang silbi sa bansa at sa mga tao. Si Secretary Duque at ang Department of Health, hindi makapagrekomenda ng pag-ban sa pagpasok ng mga Intsik sa bansa dahil takot na baka magalit si Duterte. Ang mga congressman at mga senador, mga walang masabi. Busog na busog sa pork barrel at mga insertions sa kaa-approve pa lang na 2020 budget. Ang AFP at PNP tahimik rin lang sa mga nangyayari. Lahat ayaw banggain si Duterte, kahit alam na nilang napakaseryoso na ng sitwasyon dahil napakaraming Intsik na ang nasa bansa at patuloy pa ang pagdagsa.” he added.

“Kung wala na silang mga silbi, panahon nang bawiin ng mga tao ang kapangyarihang pinahiram sa kanila. “Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” #OustDuterteNow! #PeoplePowerNa!” he also said.

However, despite the online support and donations received by Recto, it seems that People Power 3 is not going to happen yet.

As of writing, Bunyog is not yet releasing a statement over the criticisms they received after their EDSA rally.